Shining Castle Lights
by LittleMissAverage
Summary: As queen, Mary has a lot on her hands, and finding a suitor is not something she wants to deal with. Finding endless love in less than a month? That's impossible, right? But maybe it can be done with a little help from the people of the kingdom, and maybe Mary really can do what's best while making herself happy. At least, that's what she's hoping for. (Story's better than summary)
1. Imagination Forest

Chapter 1

In a small kingdom tucked away within a vast forest, a young queen stood on her balcony, allowing the gentle summer breeze to blow through her long hair. Her oddly colored eyes observed the place she ruled over and a soft sigh escaped her lips. She cared deeply for each and every citizen and wanted to be there for them as long as she lived, but her advisors were pressuring her to find a companion to rule beside, and, honestly, she wasn't ready for a relationship just yet. Though, they weren't talking about a petty girlfriend-boyfriend situation, this was a solid, life-long marriage that she was dealing with. The young queen narrowed her eyes sadly at the thought of trying to find everlasting love so quickly. If she didn't find someone suitable by the end of the month, then she would be forced into an arranged marriage, which surely would make her unhappy. After all, how could she spend the rest of her life with someone she didn't love?

"Queen Mary?" a voice called to her.

The young queen turned around and noticed a servant standing in the doorway to her room.

"Yes?" she responded in her soft voice.

"You are needed in the throne room to discuss important matters," the servant continued.

The marriage, of course, is what they would be discussing. Mary knew this, yet she said nothing about it. Instead, she gave a simply reply.

"Let them know I'll be there soon, please."

The servant nodded in compliance before leaving and shutting the door silently. Mary was a gracious queen, even to her servants, that's why the whole kingdom adored her. Along with her kind nature, she was actually quite beautiful with smooth porcelain skin and the depiction of a delicate flower about her. She was a fair and equal ruler, but from her lack of social time she was often very timid and sometimes panicked around strangers. Deep down, she was just an innocent little kid, and even the civilians couldn't deny that no matter how much they respected her.

Mary took a deep breath to prepare herself for the conversation that was to come, then she exited her room and headed through the maze of hallways toward the throne room, being careful not to trip over her ankle-length gown. _Here we go again, _she thought to herself as she pushed open the large doors and entered her destination.

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><p>By the time the conversations of finding a suitor, the benefits of the kingdom, and other things of the like were done, Mary's head was spinning. She sat in the castle's garden and gazed at the setting sun to clear her mind, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get those dizzying thoughts out of her head. The responsibilities of a queen were just too much sometimes, and right now Mary felt like she would be sick.<p>

"Are you alright, my queen?" an unfamiliar voice asked her politely.

Mary let out a squeak of surprise and fell off of the bench she was sitting on, being the clumsy girl she was. The owner of the mystery voice, a black-haired boy with honey-brown colored eyes, rushed over to her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you! Are you okay, did you get hurt?" he questioned in a worried tone.

Mary gazed up at him for a few moments before replying. "N-No, I'm fine."

"Allow me to help you up," the unknown boy offered his hand out to her, which Mary tentatively took.

There was silence for a couple of seconds, then the boy spoke again.

"I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" he laughed nervously. He bowed respectfully to her. "My name is Kousuke Seto. It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Mary responded quietly.

She was rendered speechless by this strange boy, but at the same time intrigued. _What an interesting character, _she thought in bemusement. Seto straightened his posture, no longer in a bowing position, and smiled warmly at her.

"I'm sorry if I'm invading your privacy, but you looked so sad that I couldn't bear just to stand idly by. I hope you don't mind," he apologized.

"Was is that obvious how I felt?" Mary wondered lowly mostly to herself. Then, realizing she hadn't really responded, she quickly continued. "I-I mean, I don't mind at all. Actually, I never get the chance to talk to many people, so it's nice to meet someone who isn't a royal advisor."

"Is that so?" Seto smiled at her once again.

Mary nodded slightly.

"Well then, if you don't mind, could you tell me why it is that you're so sad?" Seto inquired.

Mary looked away and instead stared at the ground. "I... I have to get married soon."

"Do you love someone?" Seto asked. Before Mary had the chance to answer though, Seto shook his head with a small apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry like that. I should probably leave before I ask any other personal questions. Goodbye, Queen. I hope we'll meet again."

Mary watched Seto's figure as he disappeared into the fading last rays of sunlight. She wanted to say something or reach out a hand to stop him so they could talk longer, but she knew that as a queen she mustn't do such impulsive things. So, she could do nothing but watch the strange, but admittedly kind, boy walk away, leaving her all alone once again. Though, the comfort of the silence in the garden that had once been there was long gone, and now held only the bitter reminder of loneliness. Mary's eyes veered their gaze to the first twinkling star in the night sky, and she allowed herself a faint smile at the thought of Seto.

"Yes, I do hope we meet again."

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><p><strong>AN: Hi, everyone! I'm here with a brand-new story that I literally thought of like twenty minutes ago. Please let me know if you'd like me to continue it, and if you don't want me to... like I said, I thought of this randomly like twenty minutes ago. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**

**Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	2. Ayano's Theory of Happiness

Chapter 2

"Welcome home!" a cheery girl greeted her adopted sibling as he entered the inn.

"Hi, Ayano nee-chan," the black-haired boy responded with a smile.

"Did you have a nice day, Kousuke?" the girl, Ayano Tateyama, asked while flipping the sign in the window to "closed".

"Yes, I really enjoyed today's training," her younger brother replied happily.

"Good, I'm so glad that you're having fun," Ayano smiled at him warmly.

"Where are the others?" Kousuke questioned while setting down his bag.

"Oh, Tsubomi is busy fixing supper, and Shuuya hasn't come back yet. You know how he is, always out late," Ayano replied in slight amusement.

As if on cue, a blonde-haired boy who was not much taller than Ayano walked through the door.

"Sorry I'm late. There was something I needed to take care of before I left," he apologized airily.

"Actually, you're just on time. I just finished cooking dinner, so come eat, everybody," a green-haired girl stated from the doorway leading into the dining room.

"Ooh, I love it when it's Kido's night to cook!" the blonde boy chirped excitedly.

"What's wrong with my cooking, Shuuya?" Ayano inquired with a small pout.

"Nothing! I love your food too, Nee-chan!" the boy by the name of Shuuya Kano laughed nervously.

"Nee-chan's the one who taught me how to cook," Tsubomi Kido pointed out while she leaned against the door frame.

"That's right. So, of course your cooking is good, Nee-chan," Seto reassured the older girl.

Ayano laughed sheepishly and looked at her three little siblings. "Heheh, you think so?"

"Yeah. Now, let's go eat before the food gets cold," Kido replied, turning around to walk back into the dining room.

Her siblings quickly followed suit, and the group of four sat down at a large table together to eat a well-prepared meal.

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><p>Ayano sat in the inn's small parlor with a cup of warm tea in her hands. She sipped it lightly every so often, her mind distracted with various thoughts.<p>

"Kousuke is doing so well in the royal guard," she muttered to herself quietly. "And the others are growing up so fast too. I wish I could help them with everything, but managing the inn all by myself takes a lot of hard work. At least Tsubomi offers to help out occasionally."

Ayano smiled fondly at the thought of her beloved siblings and gazed into the dark liquid in her cup. She hummed softly to a tune all her own while she recollected her childhood with her little brothers and sister. The fun memories, the sad ones, the happiness. _Ah, happiness, what a curious thing_, Ayano mused mentally. She treasured happiness with all her being, yet it was such a strange emotion. How could you describe something as complex as happiness? _I wish I could bottle that feeling and send it to everyone I love, that way they could always smile even if I were to disappear_, she thought to herself. The word "disappear" echoed in her mind, and Ayano reached up to tentatively touch the two red clips that held the left side of her bangs.

"Mom..." she whispered sadly, staring down at her feet.

Ayano stood up, walked to the kitchen, and set her now-empty cup down on the counter. She stood there for a few moments in silence until a familiar voice rang out.

"Nee-chan?"

She whirled around and saw Kano standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" Ayano responded.

"Are you alright?" Kano asked her.

Ayano gave him a warm smile. "Of course. Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, right!" Kano grinned upon remembering why he had approached his sister. "Seto found a puppy in the backyard and he wants to keep it, but he's not sure if dogs are allowed at the inn. So, I came to ask if he could."

"Oh, well..." Ayano trailed off.

Dogs were usually not allowed in the building, but how could she deny her precious sibling something that he's been wanting for a long time? And maybe a pet would be fun to have around, anyway.

"As long as he promises to take care of it, that's fine," she finally continued.

"Yay~ Thanks, Ayano nee-chan!" Kano cheered before he quickly headed back to where his other siblings were.

Ayano smiled faintly as she watched him go. Sure, this would add to her long list of responsibilities, but so long as it made her family happy she was okay with that. Anything to obtain the strange feeling known as happiness.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi, everyone! So I've decided that every chapter focuses on a different set of characters (or pairings if I feel like it). Since I'm doing things that way, who should the next chapter focus on? Please let me know because I have no idea!**

**Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	3. Kisaragi Attention

Chapter 3

A girl with short orange hair sighed as she entered her house, feeling exhausted from today's performance at the tavern.

"Onii-chan, I'm home!" she called wearily, plopping onto a chair in the living room.

A moment later a black-haired boy, the girl's older brother, walked into the room.

"Mom won't be home until later, she had to do extra work at the shop because someone was sick," he stated rather plainly as he took a seat too.

"Does that mean I get to cook tonight?" the orange-haired teen asked.

Her brother stared blankly at her for a moment, then he frowned. "No. Letting you cook would be the last thing I'd want."

The girl pouted childishly. "Jeez, Onii-chan, you're so mean! My cooking isn't that bad!"

"No, you're right. It's not bad," her brother started as he stood up and headed toward the kitchen. "It's horrible."

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

And yet another night of siblings bickering began at the Kisaragi residence. Yes, Shintaro Kisaragi was often blatantly rude to his younger sister Momo, who was notorious for her quick temper. By the time dinner was finished, Momo had managed to break a cup and knock some random spice into the pot of food. Shintaro set two bowls of soup on the table (at opposite ends, of course), then sat down with a sigh. He watched as Momo shoved a spoonful of the light brown broth into her mouth, and immediately she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Ew, what did you put in here? It tastes weird," Momo complained.

"Whatever it is that you knocked into it," Shintaro replied with his usual apathy.

He placed a spoonful into his mouth and tried to find out what the problem was, but he tasted no significant difference. He shrugged then continued eating. After a few minutes, his ever-so-picky little sister decided to do the same, and they ate the rest of the meal in silence. Of course, Shintaro wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but anything was better than Momo's cooking; quite literally. Once they were both finished eating, they brought their dishes to the kitchen, cleaned up, then Shintaro headed for the front door.

"Wait, Onii-chan! Where are you going?" Momo asked, poking her head out of the kitchen doorway.

Shintaro hesitated to answer, and in that moment his orange-haired sister smirked in realization.

"Oh, I know~ You're going to go see that innkeeper girl, aren't you?" Momo said in a playfully teasing tone.

"So what if I am?" Shintaro grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"You can't just leave me here by myself, Onii-chan," Momo stated.

Shintaro raised an eyebrow as if asking "why can't I?". "Your point?"

"So, take me with you," Momo responded.

"No way, you'll just annoy them," Shintaro answered without even taking a second to think.

"But I'm so bored," Momo whined. When there was no reaction from her brother other than his normal apathy, she decided to take a different approach. "And I'll tell Mom that you went out when you weren't supposed to if you don't take me."

Shintaro considered this, and finally came to the conclusion that this was not something to be put past the annoying orange-haired teen. He sighed in irritation and gestured lazily to the door.

"Fine, whatever, just hurry up," he muttered.

Momo smiled, obviously proud of herself, and joined him by the front door. And so, the two siblings set off toward the inn together.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at their destination, Shintaro knocked on the inn's sturdy wooden door and waited for it to be opened. Some shuffling sounds, bits of muffled conversation, and a loud thud followed by a few shouting voices were heard coming from inside. Shintaro gazed at the door in confusion; what on Earth were they doing in there? Finally, the door opened to reveal a rather tired, but still cheerful, looking Ayano Tateyama. Shintaro raised an eyebrow, and before she could even greet him he questioned her.<p>

"What was all that noise about?" he asked. Even while asking questions, his voice held little interest.

Ayano laughed a bit nervously. "Oh, that. Kousuke and the others found a puppy today, and they really wanted to keep it, so I let them."

"Even though pets aren't allowed in the inn?" Shintaro sounded as if he were pointing this fact out rather than asking a question.

"Yeah," Ayano replied with a sheepish smile.

"Sometimes you're too nice. And not just to them," Shintaro commented bluntly.

"Is that a bad thing?" Ayano laughed nervously again. Just then, she noticed Shintaro's orange-haired companion. "Oh! Who's this?"

Shintaro looked over his shoulder at Momo, almost as if he had forgotten she was even there. "Oh, her? She's my little sister."

"Hi, I'm Momo Kisaragi. It's nice to meet you," Momo gave a friendly wave to Ayano.

Ayano's usual smile broadened. "Hello, Momo-chan! My name's Ayano Tateyama, it's nice to meet you too!"

"Alright, now that you two have met each other, can we go inside?" Shintaro inquired.

"Oh, right! Sorry about that. Please, come in," Ayano responded while stepping aside to let them in.

The Kisaragi siblings entered the inn owned by the Tateyama's and followed Ayano into a sitting room where three people around Momo's age were situated. Upon noticing the newcomers, the three immediately stopped what they were doing.

"I'm sure you've all met Shintaro-kun before, but this is his younger sister Momo. Momo-chan, this is Tsubomi, Kousuke, and Shuuya," Ayano quickly introduced everyone, gesturing to each named person. Then, she smiled sweetly at the group gathered around her. "I hope everyone will all get along!"

Just then, Momo spotted the little brown fur-ball sitting next to Kousuke. "Aw, what a cute puppy!"

Shintaro shook his head as Momo hurried over to pet the small creature, while Ayano just kept smiling. God, did that girl ever not smile? It wasn't long before the younger siblings from both families were playing around with the energetic animal, laughing and talking happily amongst themselves.

"Isn't it nice that they're enjoying themselves?" Ayano asked with clear fondness in her voice.

Shintaro looked over at her, then veered his gaze to his one-and-only sibling. "... Yeah, I suppose it is."

And for the first time in so long, Shintaro allowed himself a small smile.

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><p><strong>AN: This is how I imagine Shintaro and Momo's relationship and normal lives going. Again, I don't really have this story planned out yet, so I would really appreciate it if you would suggest which characters to do next. I was thinking of maybe doing something with Haruka and Takane next chapter, but if I get suggestions I'll try my best not to let you down ;)**

**Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	4. Yuukei Yesterday

Chapter 4

The arrow flew through the air at an amazing speed, hitting the target directly in the middle. The person who shot this arrow, the second best archer in the land, smiled smugly to herself while her companion gazed in awe at the arrow. This companion of hers was an aspiring artist, who was quite good at what he did.

"Wow, Takane! You're incredible!" the artist complimented his female friend.

The archer, a girl by the name of Takane Enomoto, blushed slightly at his praise. "It's nothing that special... Stop getting so excited about it."

Suddenly, another arrow whizzed through air, hitting the same target in the same exact place that Takane's arrow had, and a voice that belonged to neither archer nor artist rang out.

"Enomoto-san's right. It's nothing that special."

Takane didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, but she whirled around anyway.

"Kisaragi, you jerk! Stop being such a show-off!" Takane snapped angrily.

"I see you're doing well, Enomoto-san. Oh, hello, Kokonose-san," Shintaro greeted the two bluntly.

Haruka Kokonose, the optimistic artist, smiled and waved in response. "Hi, Shintaro-kun!"

"What are you doing here?" Takane asked Shintaro rather rudely. "Weren't you supposed to be helping innkeeper girl today?"

Shintaro shrugged nonchalantly. "Ayano said I could go do something else since she's closing the inn for the day. Apparently, today's the first time in a while that all of her siblings are off work at the same time."

"So, you decided to bug me instead?" Takane questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's not my fault you just so happened to be here when I want to practice archery," Shintaro replied coolly.

Takane made a "tsk" sound out of annoyance and turned back toward the targets that were set up in the distance. Shintaro Kisaragi, the person she despised more than anyone else, was the very best archer in the land, meaning he was the only person who could ever beat her. Ever since their first meeting, she had thought of him as a rival whom she was determined to beat, though she had yet to do so. Through Shintaro she had met Ayano, who Takane had really spoken to only two or three times, but she had seen the girl at various competitions cheering Shintaro on. Takane wasn't quite sure what their relationship was. She had originally thought Ayano and Shintaro were dating, but when she asked both of them about it Shintaro had flatly denied it and Ayano had told her she was wrong while becoming unusually flustered. Either way, they acted a lot like a couple.

Unlike Takane, Haruka was good friends with both Ayano and Shintaro. During competitions, Haruka would often sit next to Ayano and cheer Takane on from the crowd, which was sometimes more of a distraction to the black-haired girl than a help. Haruka also got along well with Shintaro, his optimism and cheerfulness opposing Shintaro's apathetic personality and usual bluntness, much like Ayano. So, whenever Takane did end up hanging out with either Ayano or Shintaro or both, it was almost always because Haruka had dragged her into it. As much as the cheery boy annoyed her, she never had the heart to turn him down. Him and his dumb (endearing) smile.

"Takane, there's a new tavern that opened up recently, so can we go there for lunch after this? I really want to check it out!" Haruka asked, his eyes aglow with excitement.

Takane would never understand that boy's irrational love of food.

"Oh, did Enomoto-san finally stop being stubborn and agree to date you, Kokonose-san?" Shintaro commented with a knowing smirk aimed more at Takane than Haruka.

"As if!" Takane shouted, falling for the bait just as Shintaro had planned. Her whole face was red with embarrassment merely at the mention of dating the young artist.

"You're so stubborn, it's actually kind of pathetic. No, really pathetic," Shintaro stated.

"Oh yeah? Like you have room to talk! We all know you've got feelings for that Ayano girl, you're just too scared to do anything about it!" Takane countered.

Shintaro made a low "tsk" sound and turned away from her, busying himself with loading his bow to avoid the topic. He really didn't have a comeback to that, and didn't actually expect Takane to turn the tables on him like that. That wasn't good. Takane felt more than a little proud of herself for rendering the ever sarcastic Shintaro speechless. It looked like she had just found his weakness, and she was going to use that to her advantage whenever she could. Haruka merely looked between the two of them in confusion, not following their conversation. He didn't understand what either of them was talking about, nor why Shintaro had come to the conclusion that he and Takane were dating. Seriously, what made him think that?

"So, Takane, can we go?" Haruka asked once again.

Takane turned to look at him, having completely forgotten the reason the conversation had started in the first place. She honestly didn't care whether she went with Haruka to the new tavern or not, but with Shintaro here and the previous conversation still fresh in their minds, it would almost be like admitting defeat by agreeing. After all, if she said yes then it really would look like they were dating, and Shintaro would give her that stupid smug smirk that she just couldn't stand again... Takane opened her mouth to decline the offer, when she noticed the mixture of excitement and anticipation shining in Haruka's eyes. He was smiling so innocently with such an intense look of expectation, like a young child would to their parent when asking for something they really want. In that very instant, all of Takane's resolve vanished and she felt her face heat up in shame.

"F-Fine, but you're paying," she finally said, trying her best to sound upset, like he had literally forced her into this and she had no other choice.

Haruka beamed at her with pure excitement. "Okay!"

Takane glanced over at Shintaro, and, sure enough, he was giving her that god-awful smirk. Takane could just feel the blow to her pride. It hurt, right in her chest. Or was that her heart beating a mile a minute from how stupidly adorable Haruka's grin was? Honestly, it was hard to tell, but Takane would admit to neither one.

"Well, Enomoto-san, why don't you leave the archery to me so you can get to your _date_?" Shintaro commented with clear amusement, putting emphasis on the word "date" just to tick her off.

Takane gritted her teeth in frustration and sent him a death glare. "I hope you burn in hell."

Shintaro waved off her comment breezily before turning toward the targets and pulling back the string on his bow. He fired the arrow at an incredible speed, hitting the target squarely in the middle, before repeating the gesture a few more times. Takane knew he was just trying to be a show-off to get on her nerves now, which only made her hatred for him grow even more. She couldn't stand to even look at him anymore, so maybe this excuse to go with Haruka to the new tavern wasn't such a bad idea after all. Takane sighed and looked back over at her friend, who was patiently (or maybe not so patiently, based on his slight bouncing in place) waiting for her to go with him.

"Alright, let's just go to the stupid tavern. You look like you're going to explode or something," Takane said flatly.

"Yay! Come on, Takane, it's this way!" Haruka chirped, grabbing her hand and beginning to lead her in the direction of the tavern.

Takane began spluttering incoherently at the action, her cheeks flushing red from the contact on his hand on her own. It was stupid, completely childish even, but she couldn't help it. Haruka always had this kind of effect on her, despite her best efforts to control it. It was infuriating. Though, what may have been even more infuriating was the fact that Haruka never seemed to notice how flustered she was at all. He was just so oblivious, it was hard to believe. Still, Takane had to admit that she wouldn't have had it any other way, and as she and Haruka made their way to the tavern, she couldn't help but be a little bit happy just to be in his company.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I like the idea of a rivalry between Takane and Shintaro, plus it's really fun to write their arguments. To me, show-off Shintaro is the best lol. I hope that's not OOC or anything... Anyway, sorry it took so long for this chapter to get out, I honestly forgot I had these stories posted in the first place...**

**Well, have a nice day/night (if you're like me and it's 3:30 AM for you, congrats)/whatever. I'm going to sleep now, I need it.**


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